So, classes started back up and in my effort to reject craziness, I have tried to back off of some of the other things in my life. I think I’m starting to find balance, but I believe school will have to completed before that balance falls into place. I’m enjoying this semester as my two classes are quite interesting. My first class is with my friends from Minneapolis – it is a delight to be in a class where I know so much about my classmates. Really rewarding. My other class really challenges me sometimes in my love of stereotypes; Human Sexuality. This week, in one of my discussions, I had to write about gender identity and transsexuals. I hope I wasn’t too controvesial – although…. I do love to shake things up and make them interesting at times.
Unit 3, Discussion 3 – Gender Identity
This quite interesting topic unfortunately suffers from a great social stigma within the United States; otherwise it may be more aggressively researched to determine the viability of the gender state and possible implications. The question is not so much has the gender changed; it is whether the body is now aligned with the gender. Did the woman in a man’s body finally find herself in a woman’s body and vice versa? Must gender be so black and white? Perhaps gender exists on a sliding scale and some men are more sensitive and insightful than others. Perhaps some women are more physically capable than others. Rathus, Nevid and Fichner-Rathus write about a third gender pointing out that “In some cultures …, a third sex or gender may represent an intermediate state between men and women, or it may represent a state of being both…” (Rathus, Nevid, & Fichner-Rathus, 2008, p.179) This would explain the phenomena of some transsexuals choosing to have surgery and some choosing no medication or surgery. It is possible that some transsexuals feel completely out of place in their own body and will go to any extent to have that resolved and others only feel a moderate tendency towards the opposite sex. It certainly aligns with the norms in American society in that some men appear to have feminine tendencies while living out their life as heterosexuals and seemingly happy to do so. The opposite can be said for women. So considering this sliding scale of gender identity, one could assume that in addition to black and white there are numerous shades of grey in between. Researching and acknowledging such an idea will first require the extinguishment of the social stigma of a transsexual.
Adam T
References
Rathus, S. A., Nevid, J. S., & Fichner-Rathus, L. (2008). Human sexuality in a world of diversity (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon
Well that’s an interesting topic for sure, Adam. I am sure your instructor will think you must be on top of the “Trans” topics, as what you described is exactly one of the biggest movements happening in the “trans” community right now. When I refer to the “trans” community I mean anyone, ANYONE, that identifies as something other than their born sex. So this is transexuals, transvestites, crossdressers, bulldykes, and so on. Anyone that challenges the basic gender roles. The community has recently been fighting to get a 3rd gender added to our typical “male” and “female” choices, as this seems so basic and even “black/white” as you described. We have been calling it “GenderQueer” and speaking from experience I find that it is the best interpretation of my feelings on gender so far. I am “trans” and I am “GenderQueer” which means I identify as a 3rd gender, something un named at this time. What would give us all great credit is if the psychology association would back us on our claims and help us make room for the 3rd gender. Many societies around the world have 3 or more genders. You can read my “GenderQueer” blog : http://transhollis.wordpress.com/ and here are some other references to help you understand further. I also have access to others that would love to share their feelings with a student doing a paper, in the style of an interview.
http://genderfork.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer
http://www.genderqueerrevolution.org/gqr/home.html
Good Luck on balancing things at home/work/school.
Big Hugs from your GenderQueer Sibling – Hollis
Hollis,
Thanks for your comments and encouragement. You know, this class and particularly this chapter are quite an education for someone with 5 kids and 2 marriages. I was fearful this class would be like the typical “health class” from high school days. Turns out the text is current and seemingly relevant as you mention the 3rd gender is a hot topic. I have to honestly say this assignment would be the first time I’ve ever considered gender on a sliding scale so to say. It certainly makes sense based on other parts of human biology. There simply is no place in human biology were something is black or white. I’m curious how the microbiological perspective is on this topic (DNA, chromosones, etc.) Suppose I’ll have to find time to read more!